1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fall arrest assembly.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
In a typical fall arrest assembly or personal belay system, the user is fitted with a harness that may be removably clipped to a shuttle or glider. The shuttle is configured to slide easily along an array of belay lines in the form of suspended ropes or cables. Common forms of personal fall arrest assemblies are used in the construction and building maintenance industries where workers are performing tasks at dangerous heights, such as high-rise building construction, window washing and roof repairs. In these common systems, the runs are relatively short and often include a cable run dedicated to each worker. Moreover, the cable runs are usually fixed, stable and geometrically simple and predictable. For instance, in building constructions, the runs follow existing horizontal beams of the building and are anchored to the building vertical beams.
Fall arrest assemblies are also finding increasing use in the recreation and adventure market. Fall arrest assemblies are essential gear for mountain climbing, rock climbing and rappelling. More recently, fall arrest systems have been used in obstacle and adventure courses in which a participant must negotiate a hazardous and unstable course. Such a course may include an elevated “trail” formed by mostly horizontal ropes, suspended logs, rocks and the like. In these adventure courses, the fall arrest assembly must provide security against an accidental fall, without inhibiting the participant's freedom of movement.
Unlike the commercial and industrial uses described above, the fall arrest assembly in the adventure course typically involves long belay line runs and is aimed at an extremely active participant. In some adventure courses, the participants take part in a race and will be moving as fast as possible. The belay system must therefore not interfere with the rapid traverse of the adventurer and must be flexible enough to be set up wherever the adventure course may go. In some adventure courses, multiple participants may be traversing the same run at the same time, so the belay system must be able to accommodate multiple safety cables/ropes and multiple shuttles/gliders.
As participants demand more and more excitement, the adventure course will increase in complexity and risk. Consequently, there is a need for a modular fall arrest assembly that can grow with the adventure course while providing the greatest degree of flexibility and usability possible.
Such a fall arrest assembly or personal belay system is disclosed by EP 1.733.763, wherein a modular system is described with components that can be used on a wide range of objects to form a wide range of belay line runs. The modular system is thereby composed of a mounting plate that is mounted to a support, such as a tree or a post, whereby the mounting plate is provided with several holes for receiving anchor elements therethrough. The mounting plate is also provided with an arrangement of slots configured to receive a band or strap that encircles the object.
The mounting plate also includes several slots for receiving adjustable spacers. The spacers are configured to contact the object support when the mounting plate is mounted to the support by the anchor elements. The spacers can be adjusted to account for variations in the surface of the object to ensure that the mounting plate maintains a stable and accurate orientation.
Each mounting plate supports one or more support plates that each contain a shuttle guide. The shuttle guide is adapted for slidable passage of a shuttle that is part of the user's personal fall arrest system. The shuttle guide also forms part of the belay line run, and in particular is configured to engage segments of the line that are combined to form the entire run. The shuttle guides include a tubular body with internal threads at its opposite ends. A profile tip is provided for each end in which the profile tip includes a threaded stem for engagement with the internal threaded ends of the tubular body. The profile tip is hollow so that a portion of a segment of the belay line may extend through the tip with the end of the segment disposed within the body.
A ferrule or similar element is affixed to the end of the segment thereby trapping the belay line segment on the end of the profile tip. When the profile tip is threaded into the tubular body, the segment is fastened to the body, and ultimately to the support extension of the anchor system. A complete belay line run is then formed by coupling segments of the run to the ends of a shuttle guide.
A major disadvantage of such a fall arrest assembly is that the supports described therein are rather prone to metal fatigue because they are manufactured by a method that includes a folding step.